By
Sofiri Gladstone Dappa
According to a popular Igbo proverb, “A bird that flies off the earth and lands on an anthill is still on the ground.” Nothing better explains Simeon Nwakaudu, an errand boy employed by Governor Nyesom Wike to lie shamelessly and without any dignity.
Last weekend, the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside bared his mind on what the people already know, stating that the state was at a standstill and in urgent need of direction.
Dr. Dakuku Peterside spoke like a statesman, where he called on Governor Wike to seek for help from Rivers people, as there was growing discontent over his failure to meet their hopes and aspirations, especially as regards security, employment, education, health, infrastructure, sanitation, water, among others.
Rivers people and those with discerning minds hailed Dakuku for speaking up and drawing attention to areas where Governor Wike needed to quickly intervene and went further to suggest that he was available if the governor needed his input.
And to prove that Wike listened to Dakuku Peterside’s admonition, the governor on Monday, August 5, 2019, at different events admitted failure on the part of his administration and promised to do better going forward.
At a meeting with refuse service providers of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency, the governor declared “As I go out daily, I feel unhappy because of the filth in different parts of the state capital. At present, Port Harcourt is dirty and we must accept this fact.”
At another meeting where the governor received the report of the committee set up to investigate and audit the financial transactions of the 23 Local Government Councils from May 2018 to May 2019 at the Government House Port Harcourt, he stated “I have read the preliminary report. It is bad. The report is scandalous. Tomorrow, they will say that I don't remember those who fought for me. Some councils take up to N2billion annually and there is a council that gets up to N5billion annually, yet no project.”
Governor Wike had last week queried the Vice-Chancellor of the Rivers State University (RSU) “over reports of shooting within the school's campus,” in addition to “rampant complaints of 'sorting' within the university system.”
With his paymaster already admitting his inadequacies, one wonders why Simeon Nwakaudu went to town, crying more than the bereaved, when he is just an errand boy trying to wear the toga of a significant person.
In a poorly scripted trash aimed at scratching the unmatchable achievements of Dr. Dakuku Peterside throughout his public office, Nwakaudu labored to join irrelevant pieces together and tried to hoodwink only his band of waifs and loafers.
Not even Governor Nyesom Wike has questioned the sterling achievements of Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who is making Nigeria proud across the World as the Chairman of Association of African Maritime Administrations, thus enabling him to speak for the continent of Africa on world maritime issues.
Due to Dakuku’s doggedness and creativity, backed with forward-looking Board and staff, NIMASA has consistently raised the bar in revenue generation, of which Rivers State is one of the major beneficiaries via federal allocation.
Only recently, NIMASA topped the chart on Port and Flag State Control in the West and Central Africa Sub-Region, thus outranking other maritime regulators in the region in the inspection of vessels calling at Nigeria’s ports, according to the latest report by the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control for West and Central Africa Region, otherwise known as Abuja MoU. Abuja MoU is the apex regional treaty on port control.
And to demonstrate Dakuku’s unwavering commitment to helping tackle sea piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, of which Nigeria is a major stakeholder, the country has invited the entire maritime world to a global security summit to collaborate in developing a robust maritime security system to combat the security threats in the Gulf of Guinea.
The Global Maritime Security Conference (GMSC), which the country will host in Abuja between October 7 – 9, 2019 will afford the international community a platform to develop actionable strategies to finally put an end to piracy and other security threats in the region.
These are just some of the outstanding achievements of Dakuku in NIMASA and for which he is ready to help Wike overcome his deficiencies in the state if the governor will swallow his pride and listen to the voice of reason.
While Nwakaudu can continue to earn his diploma in servitude and bootlicking but is it not true that civil servants in Rivers State have not been promoted since 2015? Is it not true that no meaningful employment has taken place in the state? Is it not true that Rivers State is the most unsafe state in southern Nigeria? Is it not true that Wike withdrew over N100 billion from Zenith Bank? Is not true that local government chairmen in Rivers State have not executed any project since 2018?
Is it not true that as at today, Port Harcourt is the dirtiest state capital in Nigeria? Is not true that Rivers state has the highest unemployment rate in Nigeria? Is it not true that Wike has not awarded a single scholarship since he became governor in 2015? Is not true that for the first time in Rivers State history, students have not been paid bursary?
More importantly, who exactly can you say has been outstanding in Wike’s administration since 2015? The few decent and resourceful ones have since left a government that does not allow responsible and reasonable people take an initiative of their own, as only the governor knows all and do all.
As at today, Port Harcourt is grinding to a halt. Location junction by Mgbuoba road is a death trap, Chinda junction along Ikwerre road is a nightmare, Nkpolu junction by East/West road can swallow a whole trailer, Tank by Rumuokwurusi is begging for attention, Education bus stop by Mile One has been abandoned, Mile Flyover is failing, likewise Rumuadaolu road, among several others.
We are not surprised that Nwakaudu is not concerned about his boss and his failure, after all, he is just a journeyman, who will soon ‘tuwama”, as we say in local parlance and return to his obscure shop, where he plies the trade of blackmail, junk writing, and tardiness.
According to an African proverb “when the cock is drunk, he forgets about the hawk."
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